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When I started @chswx on Twitter in April 2008, I wanted to provide no-nonsense, hype-free, straight-to-the-point weather as an experiment in what Twitter could do. Ten years later, we've braved a hurricane, a giant flood, countless strong thunderstorms, heat waves, ice storms, conversational snowflakes...a little bit of everything. To be able to do this has been a phenomenal opportunity, one 11-year-old me would be absolutely awestruck by. More to the point, though, I'm awestruck by you -- this doesn't work without your reports, retweets, and most importantly, your trust. Thank you for that, and for all of your support over the last 10+ years.

In the intervening ten years, I've added presences on Facebook and Instagram in addition to Twitter. I've also been running a companion website, chswx.com, which is by far the fastest way in town to get a look at the current weather and the forecast for the next three days. With your support, I can expand these offerings and make them better than ever.

So why a Patreon page?

First and foremost, I want to make clear that @chswx is never going behind a paywall. I never want to clutter it with ads, and I never want to give the impression that it is somehow motivated by money. There's a lot of weather clickbait in social media, and I want @chswx to be the antidote.

Second, a lot of you ask how you can give back. Reports and retweets (when I've done something worthy) are amazing. But some have even gone further, wondering how to donate. Patreon makes this simple, and gives the added benefit of providing the infrastructure to open up some "behind the scenes" stuff very easily without me having to write a membership system. :)

Finally, I want to cement @chswx's place in #chstwitter (and beyond) for the long term. It's pretty clear you like it, and ten years in I love doing the weather for y'all more than ever. Becoming a supporter of @chswx helps ensure that I'll be around geeking out about the weather for years to come, and will be able to do it in a way that is true to my mission of keeping things straight and to the point.

So, what do you get? You'll get access to enhanced content, a few "private thoughts" at times, sneak previews of some work I have in the hopper, and much more. The funds will be entirely reinvested in data feeds, server costs, and development costs for new platforms (and, with any luck, will give me the headroom I need to start working on what people have most requested -- a @chswx app!)

Goals

26% complete

Fund the purchase of and maintenance of a new AWIPS (Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System) workstation. AWIPS is the system the National Weather Service uses to generate forecasts and monitor conditions. Thanks to Unidata and private vendors such as AllisonHouse and FWX, for the first time private sector forecasters (such as myself) have access to data feeds for this system.

When I started @chswx on Twitter in April 2008, I wanted to provide no-nonsense, hype-free, straight-to-the-point weather as an experiment in what Twitter could do. Ten years later, we've braved a hurricane, a giant flood, countless strong thunderstorms, heat waves, ice storms, conversational snowflakes...a little bit of everything. To be able to do this has been a phenomenal opportunity, one 11-year-old me would be absolutely awestruck by. More to the point, though, I'm awestruck by you -- this doesn't work without your reports, retweets, and most importantly, your trust. Thank you for that, and for all of your support over the last 10+ years.

In the intervening ten years, I've added presences on Facebook and Instagram in addition to Twitter. I've also been running a companion website, chswx.com, which is by far the fastest way in town to get a look at the current weather and the forecast for the next three days. With your support, I can expand these offerings and make them better than ever.

So why a Patreon page?

First and foremost, I want to make clear that @chswx is never going behind a paywall. I never want to clutter it with ads, and I never want to give the impression that it is somehow motivated by money. There's a lot of weather clickbait in social media, and I want @chswx to be the antidote.

Second, a lot of you ask how you can give back. Reports and retweets (when I've done something worthy) are amazing. But some have even gone further, wondering how to donate. Patreon makes this simple, and gives the added benefit of providing the infrastructure to open up some "behind the scenes" stuff very easily without me having to write a membership system. :)

Finally, I want to cement @chswx's place in #chstwitter (and beyond) for the long term. It's pretty clear you like it, and ten years in I love doing the weather for y'all more than ever. Becoming a supporter of @chswx helps ensure that I'll be around geeking out about the weather for years to come, and will be able to do it in a way that is true to my mission of keeping things straight and to the point.

So, what do you get? You'll get access to enhanced content, a few "private thoughts" at times, sneak previews of some work I have in the hopper, and much more. The funds will be entirely reinvested in data feeds, server costs, and development costs for new platforms (and, with any luck, will give me the headroom I need to start working on what people have most requested -- a @chswx app!)